New O/C mobo: MSI?, Abit?, Epox?..?

[App]

I tried to O/C my TBird 1 ghz (pencil Trick). Went fine till I discovered by the help of Rob Cork that my mobo, an MSI K7T Pro, is the barrier to my succes. The BIOS hasn't got any multiplier/FSB, etc. adjustment features. The MSI K7 Pro 2 A has but I prefer to wait for the new VIA 133A mobo's. What to buy?: MSI K7T Turbo-R, Abit (A?), Epox 8KTA 3+??, etc... Any well experienced O/C' er which has some good advice for me? Thanks!

[Eriksson]

The new Abits KT7A(R) are the same as the current ones but with the new KT133A chipset.

One can therefore expect the same quality from the new Abits as the current ones.

I think this should be considered when choosing new kt133a series mobo.

MSI was In my opinion in trouble with their kt133 line of boards, how many models did MSI dump on the market? However MSI has probably solved a lot of problem by now, and the new KT133A MSI board might be ok who knows?

I got no comment on the Epox.

[Rob Cork]

I agree with Eriksson - the abit is the safe choice, as the KT7 is a great board (I have no complaints with it), and the KT7a is likely to surpass even that for ocing ability - it's already recieved great reviews at [H]ard ocp and viahardware. While the others may turn out to be fine, I think there's more risk involved with them - abit boards have long been the best friend of the overclocker, for the simple reason that they are more stable and reliable than the competition (most of the time :-) )

[App]

Well......I think I've made my choice....The MSI K7T Pro will retire and will be replaced the Abit KT7A- Raid. (see review : http://hardocp.com/reviews/mainboards/abit/kt7a/ )

But....are there any kind of problems to be expected if you change the mobo? Any hints?
This is the 1st time I ever changed a mobo by myself.
Thanks

[Rob Cork]

Sometimes when changing mobo it's necessary to reformat and reinstall windows, presumably cause there's some conflicts between the old and new drivers for the two mobos. It *ought* to be ok if you remove ALL drivers and apps related to your old mobo, then shut down and swap the mobos over, and install all the new drivers as per usual. Just have evrything backed up in case the worst comes to the worst.